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Shroomish Line/RSE
Shroomish is only available in Petalburg Woods, in all three games. Its encounter rate is low, but becomes marginally better with duplicates clause on. One of the most difficult Pokémon to obtain in Hoenn, not to mention the only Grass/Fighting-type in existence before the Unova games. Shroomish is a very unique Pokémon, with an odd learnset up its sleeve; it has a role that no other Grass-type covers, being physically oriented rather than specially oriented. Despite the unkindness generally reserved to Grass folk in general, Breloom is actually capable of turning out useful in a few occasions during the game, particularly in its early and mid-late sections; Hoenn being a Water-heavy region certainly contributes to its overall workability. Important Matchups - Emerald = * Gym #1 - Roxanne (Rustboro City, Rock-type): Bullet Seed OHKOs Geodude starting at three hits. It will also averagely KO Nosepass in two turns, assuming three or more hits each with average damage variation; Nosepass' Rock Tomb, by contrast, is a mere 4-5HKO. * Rival (Rustboro City, optional): Shroomish easily beats Lotad with Bullet Seed, though it may or may not manage to win against Wingull; its Wing Attack is a 3HKO, and Shroomish can KO in anywhere from two to four turns, depending on how many Bullet Seed hits it scores. Wingull's Supersonic is also an issue; a Shroomish that already knows Mega Drain will find the matchup easier, netting a certain 2HKO. If Shroomish outspeeds Mudkip, it will find it easy to beat it, too; this can be secured by using Stun Spore on it, which is the recommended way to go about this fight, as Mudkip's Bide can endanger a slower Shroomish. Once again, Mega Drain is a clean 2HKO, so Shroomish with Mega Drain do not need Stun Spore to win. Shroomish must, for obvious reasons, stay away from Slugma, Torkoal or Torchic; it should also preferably avoid Treecko, which knows a Leer and Quick Attack combo that can prove deadly. * Gym #2 - Brawly (Dewford Town, Fighting-type): Shroomish should not participate in this battle. Machop and Makuhita both outdamage its Mega Drain with their respective STAB moves, they have Bulk Up to boost their stats, and their Guts ability makes Stun Spore a poor choice and Effect Spore a serious threat. Only Meditite may be defeated by spamming Mega Drain, as its only damaging move is Focus Punch, but it may put up Reflect and/or Light Screen in the process, thereby making Makuhita harder to beat. * Rival (Route 110): Shroomish easily beats Lombre and Marshtomp with Mega Drain; Marshtomp is 2HKOed, so Shroomish will not need to worry about Bide. It also can defeat the rival's Wingull, by paralysing it with Stun Spore and then using Mega Drain, a 3HKO. It must absolutely avoid Grovyle, Slugma or Combusken, all of which have strong moves (Fury Cutter, in Grovyle's case). * Wally (Mauville City): Mega Drain easily 3HKOs Ralts as Shroomish. Breloom can one-shot with Headbutt. * Gym #3 - Wattson (Mauville City, Electric-type): Breloom is excellent in this gym: Mach Punch 2HKOs all of Wattson's Pokémon, except Manectric; the latter, however, is relatively non-threatening, as even its Howl and Quick Attack combination can only get the best of Breloom in two or three hits even if Manectric's Attack is maxed out. Being a priority move, Breloom will only be hit once by each of Wattson's Pokémon, again with the exception of his ace; as they all can paralyse Breloom, whether through Thunder Wave or their Static ability, it is advised to make Breloom hold a Cheri Berry for this fight, to minimise the chance of it skipping attack turns due to paralysis. Even Voltorb's Selfdestruct, the scariest of moves, only kills Breloom starting at half health or below. Breloom can also opt for Bulk Up against the lesser threats of this team; two boosts will reduce the number of turns needed to defeat Wattson's Pokémon. * Tabitha (Mt. Chimney): Breloom 2HKOs both Numel with Headbutt, and they can at best 3HKO with Ember. Poochyena is OHKOed by Mach Punch. A healthy Breloom can even take on Zubat, as Headbutt and Wing Attack are both 2HKOs, and Breloom can outspeed. * Maxie (Mt. Chimney): Mightyena is 2HKOed by Mach Punch if Intimidate is negated, otherwise 3HKOed; its only offensive move is Bite, so switching in and out is not troublesome for Breloom. Zubat can be 2HKOed with Headbutt, since its Wing Attack is also only a 2HKO. Camerupt destroys Breloom, and must be avoided. * Gym #4 - Flannery (Lavaridge Town, Fire-type): No. Breloom gets instantly killed by Overheat, which all of Flannery's Pokémon have. * Gym #5 - Norman (Petalburg City, Normal-type): The lead Spinda can be 2HKOed with Mach Punch, but also knows Encore. Breloom's Mach Punch becomes an OHKO after one Bulk Up; however, if Encored on the Bulk Up, Breloom will likely have to switch. Bulk Up is still the best opener, though, as Spinda will not go down to a non-critical Mach Punch and, if it uses Psybeam instead, Breloom will be able to commence its sweep. It is also advised to use another Bulk Up against either Vigoroth or Linoone, preferably the latter, as Vigoroth also knows Encore and Linoone is likely to start the fight with Belly Drum. Two Bulk Ups guarantee the OHKO against Vigoroth and Linoone, otherwise only 2HKOed; they also grant Breloom the necessary bulk to survive Slaking's Facade and the necessary attacking power to 2HKO it with Mach Punch. * Shelly (Weather Institute): Carvanha falls to a Mach Punch. Mightyena is 2-3HKOed, depending on whether or not Intimidate is negated, as well as damage variation. * Rival (Route 119): If the rival has a Marshtomp, Breloom can solo this fight easily: after a Bulk Up, Strength will 2HKO all of the rival's Pokémon, none of which pose a significant threat to Breloom. On the other hand, the other two starters make the matchup more difficult: with Pelipper in the lead, Breloom simply cannot set up, since its Wing Attack 2HKOs; with Slugma in the lead, Ember will 3HKO Breloom unless the weather is rainy, not leaving enough room for Breloom to set up enough to overcome the later Pelipper. Still, Breloom can 2HKO Slugma and Grovyle with Strength even without any Bulk Ups, and Marshtomp is 2HKOed by Mega Drain. * Gym #6 - Winona (Fortree City, Flying-type): Aerial Ace is a minimum 2HKO against Breloom, even coming from the seemingly harmless Swablu. Breloom can 2HKO Swablu with Strength before Aerial Ace does so, but it should not fight any other members of Winona's team. * Rival (Lilycove City): Although the lead Tropius is non-threatening, its Whirlwind is likely to foil any of Breloom's possible attempts at setting up. After Tropius is defeated, either Ludicolo or Slugma can be used to set up; two Bulk Ups are enough to 2HKO the rest of the rival's team with Mach Punch or Strength, and Slugma is OHKOed. * Tabitha (Jagged Pass Hideout): Numel's Ember is only a 3-4HKO depending on Breloom's level, so it can be used for setups. After two Bulk Ups, Breloom can OHKO all but Camerupt with either Mach Punch or Strength, even considering Mightyena's Intimidate. Camerupt is only 2HKOed, but has no Fire moves, so Breloom is not in danger against it. * Maxie (Jagged Pass Hideout): Although Mightyena is not threatening in and of itself, Sky Uppercut only 2HKOs after Intimidate, and it can both use Swagger to disrupt Breloom's sweeping duties and Roar to foil any attempts at setting up. It is advised that Mightyena be simply KOed as soon as possible. Crobat must be avoided, as it destroys Breloom, though Camerupt can be 2HKOed with Sky Uppercut if Intimidate is no longer in effect, since it knows no Fire moves and its Take Down is also only a 3HKO. * Matt (Lilycove Hideout): Breloom kills Mightyena with one Sky Uppercut, but needs to avoid Golbat's Wing Attack. * Gym #7 - Tate and Liza (Mossdeep City, Psychic-type): Xatu and Lunatone one-shot Breloom with Psychic, Claydol and Solrock can 2HKO. Breloom should not fight in this gym. * Maxie and Tabitha (Mossdeep Space Center, tag battle with Steven): To maximise Breloom's usefulness in this matchup, it should focus on taking down Camerupt first; Sky Uppercut is a highly likely 2HKO against it, even after Mightyena's Intimidate. Tabitha's Camerupt also knows no Fire moves, so it cannot threaten Breloom. If Tabitha sends Mightyena in next, Breloom should then switch out and back in, to negate the double Intimidate; it can then take down one of the Mightyena by OHKOing it with Sky Uppercut, but will need to switch out afterwards, as neither Tabitha's Golbat nor Maxie's Crobat are suitable opponents for a Breloom. If Golbat is switched in next, Breloom must stay out of the fight until Golbat is defeated; it can come back in to KO Mightyena, but will also need to withdraw yet again afterwards, when Maxie's Crobat comes out. If Maxie's Camerupt is the only Pokémon left standing, Breloom can take it on; Sky Uppercut is very likely to 2HKO, and Camerupt lacks Fire moves. * Shelly (Seafloor Cavern): Sharpedo is OHKOed by Sky Uppercut, and Mightyena is 2HKOed after Intimidate, but OHKOed without. * Archie (Seafloor Cavern): Mightyena is OHKOed by Sky Uppercut only without Intimidate in effect, but can Roar or Swagger to disrupt Breloom; it may either be defeated as swiftly as possible, or Breloom could use Bulk Up and hope for a Take Down. Crobat is off limits for Breloom. Sharpedo is OHKOed even if Intimidate is still in effect. Brick Break accomplishes the same. * Gym #8 - Juan (Sootopolis City, Water-type): The lead Luvdisc offers an excellent setup opportunity; Breloom can use Bulk Up at will against it. At +3, Sky Uppercut OHKOs all of Juan's team; Brick Break users will, however, need to hit +4 to also OHKO Kingdra. Kingdra's Ice Beam is also a 2HKO very close to an OHKO, and Breloom can only take a hit at full health or very close to it, unless it outspeeds. * Wally (Victory Road): Breloom should stay far away from the lead Altaria and the ace Gardevoir, both of which can kill it easily. Delcatty and Magneton are both OHKOed by Brick Break or Sky Uppercut, which also averagely 2HKOs Roselia. * Elite Four Sidney (Ever Grande City, Dark-type): Spam Brick Break or Sky Uppercut. Everything except Crawdaunt is OHKOed by it, even with Mightyena's Intimidate; Crawdaunt is "only" 2HKOed, but poses no threat to Breloom. * Elite Four Phoebe (Ever Grande City, Ghost-type): Breloom should not fight against any of Phoebe's Pokémon, as they are all immune to its best moves and can easily overpower it. Only Sableye can be 3HKOed with Giga Drain, but only in absence of better options. * Elite Four Glacia (Ever Grande City, Ice-type): Breloom can OHKO both of the Glalie and both of the Sealeo with either Brick Break or Sky Uppercut. However, unlike Sealeo, Glalie is faster than Breloom; a level difference and/or a Speed-boosting nature will solve this problem, but slower-than-average Breloom will be severely dented by Glalie's Ice Beam, which can kill if Breloom's Special Defense is below average and/or its level is below the Champion's ace's. Breloom also categorically needs to avoid Walrein, which cannot be one-shot and will kill with Blizzard in return. * Elite Four Drake (Ever Grande City, Dragon-type): Breloom can 2HKO Shelgon with Brick Break or Sky Uppercut, but the rest of Drake's team is either too bulky to go down fast enough, or has coverage that hits Breloom for super effective damage. Kingdra is the only exception, and fighting Kingdra with Breloom is still poorly advised, as it can outspeed and spam a combination of Dragon Dance and SmokeScreen to make Breloom's life impossible. * Champion Wallace (Ever Grande City, Water-type): Wailord can kill Breloom with Blizzard, and both Tentacruel and Milotic 2HKO with Ice Beam; all three of them are not suitable for Breloom to fight against. Breloom also needs to avoid Gyarados, as it would likely become Dragon Dance fodder. It has a good matchup against Ludicolo and Whiscash, instead, respectively 2HKOed by Sky Uppercut and Giga Drain. * Post-Game: This stretch is torture for Breloom. It should not be used. }} Moves Shroomish starts with Absorb and Tackle, which is fairly standard for an early game Grass-type. It learns Stun Spore at level 7, which is very useful to compensate for its low Speed as well as exploiting the chance of paralysis; catching will also be simpler. It will then learn Leech Seed at level 10, another useful move for longer battles against tanky enemies, particularly since Shroomish has fairly good defenses for an unevolved Pokémon. Mega Drain comes at 16, and is a very welcome upgrade to Absorb; then there is Headbutt, at 22, right before evolution, which is in turn an upgrade to Tackle. Breloom's high Attack makes Headbutt a powerful move early on, about as much as Linoone's, even if it is learned slightly later compared to the Zigzagoon line. After evolution, Breloom gets Mach Punch at level 23; this should replace either Stun Spore or Leech Seed, preferably Stun Spore due to accuracy. Hold on tight to Mach Punch, as Breloom will not get any other Fighting STAB for a while. Counter comes at 28, but with Breloom's frailty and many weaknesses, most of which are special, it would likely waste a moveslot; at level 36, instead, it learns the very useful Sky Uppercut, one of the best Fighting moves in the whole generation, which backed up by Breloom's great Attack will deal considerable damage. The rest is not really worth noting: the Mind Reader and DynamicPunch combo is available, the moves respectively coming at level 45 and 54, but once again, Breloom's frail defenses and better move options will deter players from trying that. There are some interesting TM options as well. Bullet Seed is good in place of Absorb before Mega Drain is learned, but it will not be useful for long after that. After evolving, Bulk Up becomes viable as well, as Breloom's Defense is not too bad and it can actually set up against a number of enemies that do not deal super effective damage. Giga Drain serves as an upgrade to Mega Drain; despite Breloom's low Special Attack, the Water/Ground-types will still go down to it. Brick Break is for players who prefer to trade sheer power for reliability, as it has 10 less BP than Sky Uppercut, but also 10% more accuracy; Sludge Bomb adds to the coverage of the line, if needed, but Poison coverage is not incredibly useful for most of the game, and only really sees any use against the resident Grass-type(s) of either Champion. Breloom can also opt for Return over Sludge Bomb. An interesting option given by the Emerald tutor is Substitute, which goes well with the Focus Punch TM; however, Breloom will generally be too slow or too frail to use the combination properly, unless supported by Bulk Up. Recommended moveset: Leech Seed, Bulk Up, Brick Break / Sky Uppercut, Giga Drain Recommended Teammates * Water-types: One of Breloom's fortunes is that of finding itself in Hoenn, a region that is abundant with Water-types; Water Pokémon help it against Fire, which is fairly common in Ruby, provide a resistance to Ice and can generally learn Ice Beam to face Flying-types. Having a Water-type on board together with Breloom is essential. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Swampert, Pelipper, Gyarados, Wailord, Whiscash, Milotic, Starmie, Golduck, Walrein, Lanturn, Kingdra * Rock-types: Rock is a good Water complement for a Breloom teammate. The Flying resistance is essential for switch-ins, and additional super effectiveness against Fire and Ice also helps. Dual Rock/Ground-types offer the additional benefit of STAB Earthquake to hit Poison-types with. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golem, Aggron, Lunatone, Solrock, Rhydon * Dark-types: Breloom's Psychic weakness is more difficult to compensate for, since good Dark-types are not very common in Hoenn. Failing all else, the early game Mightyena can perform the job, though better Dark-types are preferred. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Mightyena, Shiftry, Sharpedo, Crawdaunt, Absol * Special tanks: Due to Breloom's many weaknesses, the choice of special walls for the team is somewhat limited, but fortunately still includes a good number of easily available Pokémon. Water-types are amongst the best for this role, since they help Breloom function against many of its sworn enemies. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Swampert, Gardevoir, Gyarados, Grumpig, Whiscash, Milotic, Walrein Other Shroomish's stats Breloom's stats * What Nature do I want? Naughty is probably the best option, as it penalises its lower defensive stat in favour of its majestic Attack stat. Adamant can work, but it will nerf Grass STAB; Brave could, but the Speed reduction can prove lethal in some cases, especially with Breloom's not excellent defensive power. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? The only plausible reason for waiting on the Breloom evolution is Spore, but it comes way too late (level 54) to be feasible, especially in a game without the Eviolite. Waiting for Giga Drain is not worth it either; Shroomish should be evolved as soon as possible. In absence of better options, Breloom will certainly help against Wattson. * How good is the Shroomish line in a Nuzlocke? Despite its many weaknesses, strange stat spread and less-than-exceptional movepool support, Breloom can stand up to several enemies throughout the game; the early Bulk Up, paired with Mach Punch and other strong Normal moves, can work wonders against most physical hitters that do not have Flying moves. While not as simple to use as other, straightforward "hit and kill" glass cannons, Breloom can do a good amount of work. Shroomish's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Poison, Fire, Ice, Flying, Bug * Resistances: Ground, Water, Grass, Electric * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Ghost, Steel, Dragon, Psychic, Dark, Rock Breloom's type matchups: * Weaknesses: Poison, Fire, Ice, Psychic, Flying (x4) * Resistances: Ground, Water, Grass, Electric, Dark, Rock * Immunities: None * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Ghost, Steel, Dragon, Bug Category:Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses